The Thief
by Vannen Shantel
Summary: The defenses around the house should have been perfect, but somehow an aspiring thief found her way into the vault of Youko Kurama and his partner Kuronue and gets caught. What will they do to her?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own YYH. I do own the plot of this story, and any unfamiliar characters. Thanks all! Enjoy!

Part 1

The Raven

The thief crouched low, avoiding the light that streamed through the window. A door to her left stood open, two figures standing there talking in tones she could not hear. Curse that stupid fox for having those plants that dulled her sharpest senses. Ah, well, at least she could still see and she would have to rely on that for the next while, even if her hearing and sense of smell now sucked.

"Got 'er!" A voice behind the crook called and tackled her. Fear jumped forward in her mind. Wriggling, she threw up her defenses and transformed into her smaller, raven form and lept out of her captors hold and into the air, pumping her wings until she reached the roof where she dropped down on the far side and took on her normal shape again. She could hear the indignant yelling and confusion from below.

Regaining her courage, she looked for an alternate entrance. There, to her left, a hatch had been cut and concealed rather well in the roof, probably meant for quick escape if the need should arise. "My entrance now," she thought happily and slipped over to it, silently thanking the snow that muffled her footsteps. She lifted the trapdoor and jumped lightly down, using her black feathered wings to slow her decent so she didn't make any noise in her landing.

A single feather dropped from her wing. With a growl, she picked it up and turned it over in her hands. Oh well, it didn't hinder her any. She just hated loosing them. Shrugging her shoulders, she tucked the feather into her equally dark hair and tiptoed across the rafters of the attic into which she had jumped. Other trapdoors showed around her, but she needed a specific one that she knew rested on the opposite end of the attic.

"I can't believe you missed her," a voice growled from below. "Now how do you expect us to catch her?"

"Calm down, Youko," the speaker remained calm, and the voice didn't strike a bell in the burglars memory as the first speaker or the one that had tried to grab her a few minutes before. "We'll catch her when she shows her face again."

"If she shows her face. This bungling fool let her escape and I would expect our unwanted visitor to be halfway to ningenkai by now!"

"She'll be back, and sooner than we expect, I'm sure."

"You have no idea," the thief thought smugly and continued her way across the roof beams. The hatch she wanted came into view but she kept her pace slow. A mistake now could cost her dearly. She stopped next to it and listened for a moment. When no abnormal sounds reached her pointed ears, she gripped the metal ring and lifted, exposing the dark room below her.

Her wings extended again to slow her fall. The vault door stood on the other side of the room. Again, the crook made her way silently to her destination. Placing an ear next to the lock, she spun the dial and heard the familiar clicking. She slowed down after a few turns, and started listening for the tumblers to fall into place. The first one did, she turned the dial in reverse, listening for the next. When it did, she smiled slightly, knowing her prize would soon be in her grasp.

The final tumbler fell into place. With a triumphant smirk, she twisted the handle and swung the door open.

"You are the persistent one, aren't you?"

The robber spun on her heal, one hand still inside the safe where she grasped a sapphire attached to a black chord. A man leaned against the doorframe to the room, a grin gracing his pale face, showing off his inch-long fangs.

"Crap," the thief thought, her face not giving away any emotion. Instead, she discreetly pulled the gem off the shelf and stuck it into her back pocket.

"Smooth," the man said, brushing his waist-length black hair behind him. "I almost didn't notice you taking it, but then again, I'm very fond of that stone and would appreciate if you would put it back, along with the bloodstone already around you neck."

Irritably, the outlaw complied.

"Good shojo," the man told her, his dark blue eyes twinkling. "Now come here. We need to deal with you."

"We?" the thief wondered and stayed where she stood.

"Don't be stubborn."

She didn't move.

"Have it your way, then." He turned to the hallway behind him. "Youko! She's being difficult!"

A few seconds later another man entered, his golden eyes glinting angrily. "Get out of my vault," he growled and a hand went to his long silver hair. A seed sprouted in his fingers when he brought the hand back in front of him. Vines grew quickly and the thief didn't have time to react as they twined around her ankles, lifted her up, turned her upside down, and pulled her over to the two men watching her.

"You have to admit, Youko," the first said. "She's really very good. No one's ever made it into the house, let alone the vault."

"True," the fox-eared man holding the plant that held her said. "How'd you get past the plants?"

She didn't respond, just blinked innocently.

"Oh, she's good," the black bat-winged man laughed. "Put her down. Let's work something out."

With a glare, the fox-tailed demon complied, dumping the intruder on her back and turning out of the room without a sound.

"He's in a mood," the first man sighed. "Oh well, guess I get to make the decision concerning you." He crouched down to look the trespasser in the eye. "So, who are you?"

She blinked innocently at him again.

"You are a difficult one," the man said. "I'll just have to fix that." A slight clinking sounded and a scythe attached to a chain appeared. The girl resisted the urge to gulp. The next she new, the scythe and chain had her pinned to the wall and the tall man grinned mischievously.

"I'm not sure I like how this is going," the captive thought. The grin on her captor spread, becoming more playful than ever. His hand reached out and cupped her chin in it.

"Difficult, persistent, stubborn, good thief, smooth motions, and attractive, what more could I ask for in a new toy?" His eyes flashed strangely as he leaned in closer, his warm breath ruffling the short hostage's hair as he neared her.

"Itekurai."

"What did you just say?" the winged man leaned back a little in surprise.

"Itekurai," she repeated, "is my name."

"Well, Itekurai," the man leaned in again. "What should I do with you?"

The girl shrank back, trying to distance her captive form from him.

"Afraid?" the man asked.

"Just wondering who you are," she replied, her voice a curious and calm alto.

"I would have thought you'd know who I was, considering you just tried to steal from me."

"I only knew where I would be working, not who I'd be stealing from," Itekurai said.

"Is that so?"

The girl smiled innocently in reply.

"In that case," his face was now mere inches from hers. "I am Kuronue, demon thief extraordinaire."

"And the other?" she asked, clearly trying to buy some time.

"You don't need to know about him," Kuronue's eyes narrowed, that odd light growing stronger.

"Oh, I'm sure I do," she responded.

"I'm sure you don't."

"I'm sure I do," the girl insisted, turning her face away from him as the bat demon leaned even closer.

"Fine," he growled that playful look still in his eyes. "He's my partner, Youko Kurama."

"Wait," the thief ordered. "You're _that_ Kuronue?"

"The one and only," he replied, smiling dashingly.

"Oh, Inari," she breathed, eyes wide in awe. "If I had known I was robbing you, I wouldn't have made the attempt. No wonder I got caught."

"Flattery won't get you out of this situation," he told her, "but it does give you points. I'm impressed you made it this far into the house. No one has ever gotten past Youko's roses before."

"They were rather nasty," the young woman admitted. "I barely managed to get away. One of them did sink rather deeply into my left wing though."

"It what?" Kuronue snapped his cheerful eyes suddenly dark.

"Got my wing," Itekurai replied and shifted it slightly.

"Youko!" Kuronue yelled for the second time that night. The fox demon returned, a glare still planted firmly on his features.

"What?" he demanded.

"One of your roses got her wing."

"So?"

"Give her some credit, Youko! She has too much talent to kill her now! Now, give the poor girl an antidote and we'll see what we can do about the current situation."

The fox glared at his partner. Kuronue glared right back. Finally, Youko gave in. "Cut her down," he ordered and the scythe and chain were quickly removed. "Sit," he ordered, and Itekurai did. "Stretch out your left wing." Again, the young girl complied.

"Well?" Kuronue asked after a few minutes.

"I don't understand," Youko breathed, "for some reason, the poison isn't working as quickly as it normally does. She should be unconscious by now."

"I really have no clue," Kuronue snapped. "You're the expert with plants and all that good stuff. I'm here for other reasons, remember?"

Youko ignored his irate partner. "In any case, chew on these." He handed the girl a couple of leaves. "They'll cure you."

"Arigato," she said and started munching on the greenery.

The bat demon muttered angrily under his breath. He then noticed that the girl was starting to fall asleep. He looked quizzically at his friend.

"In a minute," the fox mouthed. Finally, the would-be thief fell asleep where she sat, leaning against the wall.

"What do we do with her?" Kuronue asked.

"You're the one that didn't want to kill her," Youko growled. "You figure it out."

"You know I won't make large decisions without your consent."

Youko sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just annoyed that she got past my defenses."

"She got past mine too."

"Good point, now I don't feel half as stupid. In any case, you _are_ right. Her talent is too great to let it go to waist. I still have no idea what we do with her."

"We could let her stick around for a while, see what all she can do. If she becomes a threat, we eliminate her, like we always do."

Youko opened his mouth to argue, and then thought better of it. He knew Kuronue wouldn't suggest such a thing for personal reasons. Granted, he knew the look on his friend's face. He liked the sleeping demon and obviously had plans to seduce her, which was a bonus for the bat, but it wasn't his main motivation. The girl could be an asset to their small team, especially because she was an unknown thief, the perfect help. Many of the richer people in Makai had placed specific wards against the fox and the bat demons. She could disable such spells, making the thefts easier and a lot less painful. Besides, they did have an opening after one of the henchmen let her get away earlier…

"Alright," Youko finally agreed. "We'll give her a trial run."

"I thought you would agree," Kuronue grinned, picked the girl up, and carried her into another portion of the house.

* * *

"Ah, crappin' piece of junk, headache…" Itekurai grumbled and sat up. "Something's not right," she realized when she noticed she still wore her belt and her wings were in a very painful position under her back. Wincing, she stood shakily and stretched them, taking in her surroundings in the same moment. She was in a small room with only the necessary furnishings. A door opposite where she stood was the only way out, as the windows were covered in roses and would probably alert the legendary Youko Kurama.

"I can't believe I'm in their house," she murmured, wide eyed as memories came flooding back to her. Taking another minute to stretch, she opened the door.

_Whack!_ "Ow…." Kuronue looked in the room, only to see Itekurai rubbing her abused nose and glaring at him. The bat demon had opened the door, just as she'd reached for the handle, smacking her in the face.

"Oops, sorry about that," Kuronue said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, you should be," the girl thought, letting her hand drop back to her side.

"Come on, then," the tall man ordered, "unless you're not hungry." He led the way out the door and down the hallway, into a good-sized kitchen where Kurama already sat at the table, pealing an orange for his breakfast.

"How's the wing?" he asked absently, not looking up from his food.

"Better," Itekurai replied, shifting it slightly.

"Good. Kuro, you tell her, I'm off to get some work done on those roses that didn't kill her in the first few minutes." The fox stood, pulling the orange to pieces, and walked out the door.

"Tell me what?" the girl wondered, glancing at Kuronue who had sat down and started munching on an apple.

"Sit, eat," he ordered. "First things first," he commented after swallowing another bite, "you got a nickname? Four syllables are a little long."

"Ite."

"Ite? Good, much easier. In case you didn't catch it, I'm Kuro to those that know me as more than a thief, which I hope will soon include you. Before you start asking questions," he held up a hand to silence her, "I'll tell you what you probably want to know. Youko and I started talking last night after you fell asleep. We agreed to give you a trial on the team. We'll start you with something small, see if you can handle it. You'll have to work your way up the ranks, but someday, you might just become Youko and my partner. Granted, that's never happened, but now you have a dream."

Ite nodded, as she tore the orange she'd pealed apart. "I figured that out pretty fast. All I want to know is where my boots are," she told him looking at her bare feet.

Laughing, Kuronue shook his head and went after her footwear.


	2. The Heist

Again, I don't own YYH. Hope you all are enjoying. Have comments? Please review! Thanks!

**Part 2**

**The Heist**

"Youko! Let's move!" Kuronue yelled and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the fox to quit playing with the plants.

"I'm coming," the other thief growled and walked into the kitchen. He threaded a few blades of grass into his hair among his other seeds and small plants. "What's the rush anyway?"

"It's the girl's first trial run. I want to be there to mess it up for her as much as possible."

"You're looking to come to her rescue like some noble moron, aren't you?" Youko drawled, a smug look on his face.

"Hardly!" Kuro guffawed. "I want to see if she can deal with a little bad luck and find out who wanted what out of _our _vault. It's payback time…" His glare deepened in slight anger.

"Sure," Youko said and walked past his partner. "Let's get going so we _can_ find out who hired the bird head and take him down our selves."

The two left their house and pulled up all the defenses they'd put in place over the years. They immediately went to where the rest of their band stayed and asked where Itekurai was.

"She's already left, chief," one of the higher-ranking demons told Kuro when he was asked. The bat left with the fox and stopped just outside the door.

"Well?" Kuro asked. "You get her scent?"

Youko turned his nose into the air and took a deep breath. "Faintly," he replied and inhaled again. "She seems to be heading south. Let's go." He headed off without another word. Kuro nodded and followed his partner. A few hours later, they caught up to Ite but stayed out of sight. This was her only shot to keep a space in the ranks of the two's team. If she messed up now, it would be the end of her. If she messed up on a future heist, it would also be the end of her, but now she had the chance to prove herself. She reached a clearing, changed into a raven, spread her wings, and took to the air.

"Follow her," Youko commanded. "Stay hidden."

"Yes, Mother," Kuro drawled rolling his eyes and lept into the air himself, keeping close to the trees so he wouldn't be seen easily by the higher flying raven.

The sun started to peak over the horizon when Itekurai finally landed, folding her wings gently before returning to her normal form. Quickly, Kuronue banked back into the trees and folded his wings, dropping to the forest floor silently. "She's going to do this in _broad daylight?"_ he wondered incredulously. He crouched down and returned to the girl's trail.

Youko soon caught up to Kuronue, having sent a tendril of ki out to his friend to attach them so he would easily follow the trail without having to give himself away. He didn't say anything, just appeared from the shadows to slowly slink along next to Kuro in pursuit of the girl.

"The Thief's Guild?" Kuro wondered when he took a moment to study his surroundings and realized they were familiar. "Figures they would pull a stunt like this. Probably her entrance test."

Ite sized up the wall in front of her, pacing a little in thought. Finally, she snapped her fingers, fumbled with something at her waist and walked boldly up to the wooden barrier. Daggers flashed in her hands before she slammed one into the wall as high as she could. She pulled herself up a little with one arm, sunk the other in higher, and pulled herself up again. She continued this, walking up the wall, using her knives as movable handholds. Kuro pondered for a moment, wondering why she didn't just fly when he realized her black wings were no longer visible. She could pass as a human should she choose to.

"She's got strength," Kuro commented quietly, watching her arm muscles flex as she heaved herself onto the top of the wall, lying flat to remain unnoticed.

"She's stupid, that's what she is," Youko half laughed. "I'm having trouble believing she's attempting this in daylight."

Kuro nodded and sat back to wait for the girl's return, if she did. The guild wasn't the friendliest in the Makai.

* * *

Ite dropped to the ground inside the walls, careful not to make a sound. She rose into a crouch, staying in the shadows cast by the wall at her back. The main doors stood to her right, the back door to her left. Neither was the entrance she wanted. She looked up and picked out the stained glass window three stories up. Turning into a raven wasn't an option. There were charms all around this place to prevent any transformations of any kind. Doing so outside the walls wouldn't help either. They too were warded so that anyone that attempted to come in transformed would immediately loose their grip on the form they wore. Her wings that normally rested easily wouldn't be useable here. They too were part of her transformation, the part of her she'd gotten from her father. She preferred it, knowing few knew it as opposed to her natural appearance that was more like her mother's. She wouldn't be able to fly to the window using any form of wings. Who was she kidding? No power at all could be used within these walls without the Guild Master knowing. 

Ite sized up the building in front of her. She could see pressure sensitive marks up as far as she could see. If more weight than that of a bird rested on them, they would go off.

"If I weren't clever, I'd have to take the suicidal approach of the front or back door," she thought smugly and walked over to a nearby tree. Her kit awaited her return there. She dug threw the leather bag, found the object of her search, replaced the bag into the higher branches, and walked over to the wall. The bottle she held in her hands was small, only about as big as her thumb and the red liquid inside didn't look too friendly. Still, she let one drop fall onto her tongue and waited a few seconds for it to take affect.

On the third floor, a window creaked open as Ite let go of the winds she'd used to lift her off the ground. Thank heavens for that apothecary she'd come across three months ago. She'd cleaned the place out in the space of an hour when the owner took his afternoon lunch break. Among the bottles of random ingredients, she'd found a few recipes and finished potions, one of which concealed the use of any amount of ki used, no matter how large or small for three minutes.

Her booted feet made no noise on the floor as she tiptoed through the room, over to the bed where a snoring demon lay. Ite could smell the alcohol he'd consumed the night before easily. He wouldn't wake up for another three or four hours, no matter what noise was made, but the girl didn't take any chances. The Guild Master's belt hung on the bedpost. With a smirk, Ite pulled the key ring off it and left the room, heading for the center of the compound, taking care not to make any noise and to avoid all noises that could be the result of some early morning wanderer.

The guards to the guild's vault were snoring in their chairs. Ite rolled her eyes. "So much for impenetrable," she thought and let a few drops of oil fall on the hinges. The padlock snapped open easily with the help of the keys the girl had stolen a few moments before.

The traps were easy to dodge. Arrows, flames, pits; all too simple for those with good reflexes to avoid. The last one, however, was harder. Twenty yards of space stretched out before her. She couldn't jump it, but her winds could carry her across. The problem was having the control to be able to hold herself in one place long enough to unlock the door to the main vault, grab what she wanted, and be back to where she stood all in the space of twenty seconds. After selecting the appropriate key, she took a deep breath, stepped back, and took a running leap towards the gap, using winds to help propel her. Her aim wasn't the greatest but she did manage to get rather close to the keyhole. She took another second, sweat pouring down her face as she tried to control the gale surrounding her, to place the key into the lock and turn it. The winds around her dropped as she grabbed the handle, pushed the door open with her feet, and jumped inside the vault.

Ite grabbed what she could, including the Guild Master's favorite treasure all in thirteen seconds. Stuffing what she'd grabbed into a bag, she lept out of the room, calling winds again to hold her long enough to relock the vault door before launching herself back to the edge of the gap she'd crossed seconds before.

She left the first vault door in same way she'd come to it, locked and with two sleeping guards. Quickly, she slipped down the nearest staircase, heading for the bottom floor. She knew she only had enough energy to call winds up to force herself over the wall and make a less than graceful landing on the other side. Her trip went unhindered. She lept into the tree outside, grabbed her kit, and called winds with the last remaining amount of strength she had to lift her over the wall. She barely made it and fell unceremoniously onto the ground before stumbling into the woods and resting.

* * *

"Here she comes," Kuro told his partner, feeling the girl's ki approaching the wall. Seconds later, a wild mess of red hair poked over the enclosure, followed by the head and body of a strong girl before it tumbled to the ground. She hauled herself up and staggered to the woodlands, yards from Youko and Kuronue. 

"I thought you said she was coming," Youko commented, absently coaxing a vine near him to grow up a tree.

"It's her," Kuro answered, equally bewildered, "at least that's her ki signature."

"In any case, we should head back before she does. It seems she's passed. Hope she got something to add insult to injury to that over blown pickpocket that calls himself a thief."

Kuronue nodded and took to the air as his partner transformed into a fox. The two headed home before the girl could beat them.

Back at the house, Youko munched contentedly on his breakfast when Kuronue finally walked in. "I thought you were going to make as much as you could go wrong for her," he commented, watching his winged friend from the corner of his eye.

"You know the charms and spells on that building as well as I do. Last time we stole from them, they got a little wiser and guarded it specifically against our powers. The only way I could make things worse for her was to go in myself and it's not really worth my time. Besides, I did leave her a parting gift."

Youko shrugged and went back to eating, propping his feet up on the table.

Eight hours later, Ite walked in through the front door, her bag full of prizes slung across her shoulder.

"You sure took your time getting back," Kuronue commented as he sharpened his scythe.

Ite threw a set of keys onto the table in front of him. "Here," she said yawning. "I assume the master keys to the Thief's Guild are enough insult upon injury to that overblown pickpocket that calls himself a thief?" She plopped down next to Youko, setting her loaded bag next to her.

"You heard us," the fox stated, picking the keys up and examining them carefully, a slight grin on his face.

"You weren't exactly quiet in your conversation when I came over the wall. I wouldn't be surprised if you woke up half the guild considering how quickly they came after me. It took me an hour to get them off my tail. Either that or the burst of power Kuronue threw at the barrier did the trick."

The bat smiled cheekily as he looked over at her. His parting gift had given her some trouble after all.

"Well, Youko," Kuro turned to his partner. "Now that she's back, let's get to work, shall we?"

"More work?" Ite demanded and fell out of her chair. She was beat. Curse that bat demon and his pranks. If she hadn't had to run from the guild, she'd be more reasonable towards doing another job so soon.

"What?" Youko asked. "You think you get a break? Hardly! You're sloppy. You're weak. You need training and it starts now." The fox stood and dragged the girl bodily out the door by the collar of her shirt as she yelled angrily at him the entire way.

"Poor girl," Kuronue murmured shaking his head sadly. "She'll never live through his torture. I better go save her." He started towards the door as well, then saw her bag next to the table. "After I look through that and take what I want." He leaned over and reached out to the black canvas.

**"MINE!"** Ite raced in, snatched the bag up, whacked the bat on the back of the head, and fled the room.

"Get back here!" Kuronue and Youko yelled simultaneously and gave chase.

* * *

Ite had locked her bag up in her room where the two boys couldn't find it, irking both of them to no end, and was now outside preparing herself to undergo training with a certain evil fox for her mentor. 

"Can you fight?" Youko inquired, circling the shorter girl.

"Well enough," she snapped in reply, disliking his tone.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Ite didn't receive any more warning. Vines lashed out and coiled around her form, leaving deep gouges. Crying out, she dropped to her knees in pain and tried to pry the thorns out of her flesh as her hands slipped in her own blood.

A vicious flick pulled her to her feet and left her arm scratched worse but mercifully free of the fox's vine. "You're slow," the cold voice growled. Another portion of the plant pulled free, leaving another bloody scratch, this time on the girl's shoulder. "You're weak." Another yank and another line of blood dripping down her form. "You're sloppy." He pulled again and this time Ite dropped back to her knees as all but one piece of the plant pulled free. "On your feet." Youko ordered and yanked the final branch, this time tearing a line of flesh from her back.

She struggled to her feet again, reaching for a weapon in the same movement. One of the daggers she'd used that morning to climb the wall outside the Thief Guild flashed in her hand as she lunged forward, swinging wildly. Youko smirked and a blade of grass he held grew and strengthened until it formed a green broad sword. When she was in reach, Youko struck. Ite dropped her knife and clutched her now bleeding wrist.

"You can't fight." Youko concluded. He tossed his blade aside and walked away. "Go practice with the lower members of the gang. See if one of them can teach you, although you seem hopeless with those knives. I suggest choosing a different weapon."

Gritting her teeth in pain, Ite climbed back to her feet and limped out of the garden Youko'd been teaching her in to bandage her wounds and decide on a new weapon.

Since she was little, Itekurai had been on her own, stealing to live, which soon became living to steal. She was a fast flyer, a good runner, but not the best so she'd taught herself basic self-defense that would get her away from most pursuers. She carried her daggers mostly for purposes of stealing, not for fighting. No one had ever trained her, and now she was painfully aware of her lack of skill.

"Rough day wi' th' heads, eh?" A tall, spiky brown-haired demon asked as Ite hobbled into the building that housed most of the gang. His name was Onshi and had been Ite's guide over the last little while, showing her where her room was, where she could get food, and so on. Now he steered her into her room and sat her on the bed.

"Yeah," Ite groaned, and rifled through the drawers next to her bed, searching for the bandages Onshi had shown her earlier. She pulled a role out and went to work on her arm. "Youko decided to see if I could fight. I think I failed his test."

"Used th' vines, did 'e?"

Ite nodded grimly. Then remembered what Youko had told her. "Onshi?" the pointed ears twitched at the sound of his name. "I need to learn to use a weapon, something other than daggers. What do you think?"

The demon stepped back from her for a moment and studied her thin build with appraising grey eyes. "You're a wee bi' small fer a broadsword," he muttered. "Eve' try a'chery?" he asked.

Ite nodded. "Disastrous," she replied looking at the inside of her left arm. A long scar showed white against her tan skin. "My arms bend funny," she informed him showing the way her arms bent inward when she locked her elbows.

"Double join'ed," Onshi nodded. "You'll wan' somethin' ligh', wee, bu' able t' be thrown if you need t'…" he trailed off as he thought, glancing around the room. A decorative fan on her wall caught his attention. "A shukusen?" he asked her. Ite raised her eyebrows in confusion. Onshi pulled the fan down. "A fan like this, only th' ribbin's steel and goes a wee bi' pas' the cloth, comin' t' a sharp point. You can use 'em as a knife," he snapped it shut and made jabbing gesture, "a circular blade," he flicked it open and made a slicing motion, "or you can t'row i'," he left it open and threw the wooden fan, it sailed across the room and slammed into a wall before dropping to the floor.

"Bladed fans?" Ite inquired skeptically as she continued to wrap cloth around her injured left arm. "I don't know…"

"Give 'em a try!" Onshi encouraged with a smile. "I'll go fin' a pair while you finish wha' you're doing. Mee' me outside when you're done and we'll star' your trainin'."

"Thanks Onshi," Ite replied with a sigh, tying off the bandage on her arm.

"Don' worry abou' 't. Jus' 'urry up. I have a job tonigh' wi' some o' th' guys and I wan' nap afore I go." He left, not giving Ite a chance to reply.


End file.
